Judge declines to dismiss St. Paul skyway arrest lawsuit

Security video of police arresting Chris Lollie
A screenshot from security video from the Securian Financial building of police arresting Chris Lollie.
Courtesy St. Paul Police

A federal judge has declined to dismiss a lawsuit from a man arrested by police who used a stun gun against him in St. Paul's skyway system in 2014.

U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson said there are too many disputed facts surrounding the incident. In her opinion issued Feb. 4, she said Chris Lollie's lawsuit against the city and three officers should be decided by a jury.

Lollie was arrested Jan. 31, 2014. He claimed he was doing nothing wrong as he sat in the skyway, and that he was targeted because he was black. Charges against him, including trespassing and disorderly conduct, were dropped.

The officers were cleared of wrongdoing by the Police-Civilian Internal Affairs Review Commission in November 2014.

A trial date has been set for March 22.

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